30/01/2025 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday 30 January, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that it had signed a contract with Thales Alenia Space (Italy) to lead a European consortium of aerospace companies in the construction of the lunar descent element (LDE) Argonaut, ESA’s first lunar lander. From the beginning of the next decade, the spacecraft will be launched on regular missions to the Moon and could be used to deliver infrastructure, scientific instruments, rovers, technology demonstrators and vital resources for astronauts on the lunar surface, according to ESA. The main team for the development of the lunar descent element is made up of Thales Alenia Space in Italy, Thales Alenia Space in the UK, Thales Alenia Space in France, and OHB. The LDE will be delivered in 2030 for use on its first operational mission, ArgoNET, scheduled for launch in 2031. (CG)